NWU CONDEMNS REFUSAL OF PERMISSION FOR TOBAGO UNION MEETING

The National
Workers Union (NWU) condemns the action of the Commissioner of Police in
turning down an application by the joint trade union movement to hold a public
meeting in Tobago. The meeting was slated to be held on September 9th
2011.

This
turn of events certainly throws the spotlight on the strenuous denials of the
government that the State of Emergency had nothing to do with the mobilisation
of the joint trade union movement towards a general strike over the issue of
the 5% cap for government employees and state enterprise workers.

The
procedure for holding a public meeting in non-emergency times was governed by
the Summary Offences Act. This Act, which itself is oppressive, (the NWU has
called for its repeal) specifies that to hold a public meeting the police must
be notified. The Emergency Powers Regulations
2011 states that permission must be
sought by the police.

According
to the Summary Offences Act:

“A person who
desires to hold or call together any public meeting shall, at least forty-eight
hours but no more than fourteen days before the day on which it is proposed to
hold such meeting, notify the Commissioner of Police. (2) Every
notification...shall be in writing signed by the person or persons desiring to
hold or call together the meeting and shall state - (a) the address of each of
the persons desiring to hold or call together such meeting; (b) the purpose or
purposes of the meeting; (c) the place at which the meeting is to be held and
the approximate time at which it is to begin; and (d) the name of every speaker
other than a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago or a resident who intends to address
the meeting.”

“Except with the prior permission in writing of the Commissioner of Police, the
grant of which shall be in his discretion, no person shall hold or take part in
any public march or public meeting.”

Other
regulations prohibit the dissemination of documents (flyers) and the use of any
“instrument for the amplification of
sound” (PA system) except with the permission of the Commissioner of
Police. There are even prohibitions on the attempt “whether orally or otherwise, to influence public opinion...”

The National Workers Union, like other
trade unions, was convinced from the start that the emergency was declared not
to deal with crime, but to stem the rising tide of working class discontent.
This conviction led to the National Workers’ Union making a call on the
government to end the state of emergency. Instead of heeding that call the
government extended the period of emergency rule by three months.

The emergency regulations certainly seem
aimed at crippling the normal functioning of trade union activity. Criminals do
not usually hold public meetings and marches, distribute flyers or attempt to
influence public opinion with the use of instruments for the amplification of
sound or otherwise. Trade unions certainly do.

The refusal of the Police Commissioner
to give permission for the public meeting in Tobago seems to be another bit of
evidence that the emergency regulations are aimed at the trade union movement.
The National Workers Union calls on all trade unions and other civic organisations
to condemn this refusal in the strongest possible terms.